If you run grounds-maintenance equipment, two sets of UK regulations apply to almost everything in your yard: PUWER and LOLER. They sound like jargon, but the principle is simple — your kit must be safe, suitable and maintained, and some of it must be formally inspected on a schedule. Here is what they mean in plain English.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Always check current HSE guidance and have a competent person advise on your specific equipment and operations.
PUWER — for (almost) all your equipment
PUWER is the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. It applies to virtually all work equipment — mowers, tractors, strimmers, blowers, hand tools, trailers, sprayers. In short, PUWER says equipment must be:
- Suitable for the job and conditions.
- Maintained in safe working order.
- Inspected where needed to keep it safe.
- Used only by people who are trained and competent.
- Fitted with appropriate safety features (guards, controls, markings).
PUWER doesn't set one fixed inspection interval; it requires inspection at suitable intervals based on risk and use, plus maintenance per the manufacturer's schedule. In practice that means daily/pre-use checks by the operator, plus periodic servicing.
LOLER — for lifting equipment specifically
LOLER is the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. It applies on top of PUWER to equipment used for lifting or lowering loads — think vehicle tail-lifts, hoists, cranes, vehicle lifts, and some attachments used to lift. Most pedestrian and ride-on mowers are not lifting equipment, but a tractor with a front loader, a tail-lift on a tipper, or a workshop hoist will be.
Where LOLER applies, lifting equipment must have a thorough examination by a competent person, typically:
- Every 6 months for equipment used to lift people, or
- Every 12 months for other lifting equipment,
- or in line with an examination scheme drawn up by a competent person.
The competent person issues a report of thorough examination, which you must keep.
What about vehicles?
Road-going vehicles (vans, tippers, some tractors) also need a valid MOT and routine servicing. That's separate from PUWER/LOLER but belongs in the same place in your head: dated obligations that must not lapse.
The records you should keep
Whatever the regime, the theme is the same — be able to prove it. Keep:
- A register of every machine with make, model and serial/asset number.
- Daily/pre-use check records (often done by the operator on a checklist).
- Service and maintenance history.
- LOLER thorough examination reports for lifting equipment.
- MOT and statutory dates for vehicles.
If an inspector or an insurer asks, you want to produce this in seconds, not search a filing cabinet.
How to stay on top of it
The failure mode is always the same: a date slips because the reminder lived in someone's head, and a machine goes out non-compliant. The fix is to track every due date in one fleet register that reminds you before anything is due — LOLER, PUWER inspections, MOT — and to run daily pre-use checks on the crew's phones so defects surface early (a failed check can raise a job to fix it). That turns compliance from a scramble into a routine.
SwardOps tracks LOLER, PUWER and MOT due dates per machine with reminders before they lapse, plus daily check templates for crews. Start a free 30-day trial to see it.